The Awkward Lives of Teenage Superheroes
by Madman With a Pen
Summary: Peter Parker and Kitty Pryde have both recently become single and, with the X-Men scattered, Kitty decides to call Peter and see if he'd be interested in going on a date. However, in an increasingly anti-mutant world, things were never going to be easy for Kitty. And Peter's hardly having an easy time of it as Spider-Man... Loosely based on Ultimate Spider-Man continuity.
1. Chapter 1

Ugh.

I so don't need this right now. I mean, seriously, I was hoping to clear my head for a bit, get away from all the stupid crap going on in my stupid life, but no. That's too much to ask. Of course it is. One day to myself without having to worry about all the stupid people in this stupid city who can't go one stupid day without nearly getting themselves killed – that was never going to happen!

Ugh.

But then again, this is all coming from the guy swinging from skyscrapers in skin-tight red and blue pyjamas. Doesn't exactly have 'quiet life' written all over it, does it? I don't know why I thought putting on the costume would be a good way to get some peace. But then I don't seem to get a lot of peace when I'm out of the costume, so I might as well get some fresh air and exercise, right? So instead of wasting time as Peter Parker, whom the world seems to hate, I'm out here as Spider-Man… whom the world seems to hate.

Ugh.

This is stupid. My head is not in this today. She dumped me. (God, I hate saying that.) MJ dumped me. And, of course, because this is me, I am not only completely miserable, but totally riddled with guilt. Because, of course, like everything else that has been totally screwed up in my life, this is entirely my fault. And I can't fix this because the only way things could ever work out between me and MJ is if I stopped being Spider-Man. But I can't do that, because I have this whole over-active conscience and guilt complex that won't let me quit this stupid teenage superhero thing that I do. I am totally too young for all of this.

Ugh.

And, just to top it all off and remind me how totally futile all my whinging is, I am now stuck in another load of superhero-crazy-stuff when most people my age would currently be moping around in their bedrooms listening to music and complaining about their messed up love lives to their friends. And, as pathetic as that sounds, I so wish I was doing that right now. Y'know, if I had any friends left in the world to complain to. Never date your best friend. Or, if you prefer, never date your ONLY friend. Or, if you prefer, never date your only friend and then drag her into a ton of stupid double-life superhero crap that keeps on screwing you over. Do other people have these problems? Or is it just me? (I bet Captain America doesn't go through all this.) So, yeah. That's what I'm not doing. What I am doing – while feeling totally empty and miserable and fed up with absolutely everything – is fighting some nut job who has taken the time to build himself an eight-foot mechanical rhino costume and is currently laying waste to Brooklyn while the police, or the army, or the freaking Avengers are nowhere to be seen.

UGH.

I am not in the mood for this. But since when has that mattered, right? With great power comes a whole lot of ass-whupping and bad jokes. Or something like that.

Hero time.

This rhino guy is built like a tank and running right at me. The suit looks like it should weigh a fair few tons, so the speed he charges at is surprising. He's outrunning cars, tossing them aside with the horn on his head like they're softballs (who builds a giant suit of battle armour and makes it look like a rhino? Seriously?). I think the suit's using some sort of AI hydraulics. And, I mean, that is just cool. If he wasn't about to kill me, I would probably be totally geeking out right now. But, as things stand…

I jump as he gets ready to plough me down. Eight feet? What's that to a guy with spider powers? I clear the horns and land on his back, sticking to the armour-plating. Quick burst of the webshooters and I've got a hold on his head by a couple of thick strands of webbing.

"Toro! Toro! Easy there, rhino boy!"

"GET OFF ME!" Ah, I see I'm dealing with a true poet here.

Well, maybe not, but unfortunately I am dealing with a man in a giant suit of armour. Oh crud.

He swings himself around. He moves fast, faster than I'm thinking. Before I know what's happened, I'm sailing through the air, there's a crash of glass all around me and I'm lying on the floor of some office.

"Uuugh… um, ow."

I scramble to my feet. Come on, Parker, shake it off. It's just your bones and your muscles and your organs. No big deal, right?

There's a whole office full of people looking at me, probably wondering what the hell's going on. I mean, I would hope they noticed the giant rhino man fighting the red and blue spider guy in the street right outside their window, but their expressions say they're wondering what the hell is going on. To be honest, so am I.

"Um, hi," I say. "Anyone got a tin of spinach?"

Blank looks. I swear, in my head, I'm hilarious.

"Never mind," I mutter. "Nobody watches cartoons anymore. Geronimo!""

I leap back out of the shattered window. I wonder what it's like to be one of the people in that office. To have Spider-Man thrown through their window for a few seconds. Bet they're all going to be thinking their lives are getting way too weird, living in this city.

They have no idea.

"Excuse me!" I land behind tall, grey and gruesome. He turns to look at me. "Sorry, but I think I was just in the middle of stopping you before we were rudely interrupted by you throwing me through a window."

"Shut up, Spider! I AM RHINO! Rhinos crush spiders!"

"Rhinos crush spiders? Huh. You know, I'm going to take a wild guess based on the true wit and insight displayed in that remark and the sophistication of that suit and say… you're not the one who built that suit, are you?"

He doesn't answer. He roars. And then he charges at me. Again.

I shoot a web, which latches onto his leg. Keeping hold of the other end, I run at him, jumping when I'm close. I land on the wall of the building next to me. I keep running, pulling the web across him, catching his other leg in it. He trips and crashes into the ground, breaking the road as he lands. As soon as he's down, I jump back onto his back.

"See, I would actually be impressed if you'd built this thing. I mean, this is a pretty snazzy high-tech suit you've got going on here." My fingers stick to a central plate on the back and I rip it off. Underneath, I spot the ring of blue light that is the suit's central reactor. "I mean, look at that. That is awesome. What is that? Is that an arc reactor? Please tell me Tony Stark is not building giant rhino suits now. And if he is, and you stole this from him, why is he not here dealing with you in one of his three billion Iron Man suits?"

Rhino roars again. That's not good. His fist slams into the ground and he bolts back up onto his feet. But I'm ready.

As he gets up, I somersault from his back, onto the roof of a parked car – one of the ones he hasn't trashed yet. There's a manhole cover a few feet away. I use a couple of webs to latch onto it.

"You die now, Spider!" yells Rhino. He charges.

I jump, pulling the manhole cover up with me by two web-lines. I swing it over my head and, as Rhino passes by beneath me, I bring it down on the exposed section at the back of his suit.

There's a crash.

I land in front of Rhino.

Light and sparks burst from his armour as the reactor breaks. The whole suit shudders and then falls flat on the ground. A second later, the back of the suit explodes, throwing up smoke and flame.

"Whoo. Whoa. Okay."

A crowd of onlookers is emerging in the street now, coming out of their hiding places.

"Everyone okay?" I say. "We all good? I tell you what, how about everyone just takes five? I know I could use a break. Whoo."

I breathe out and relax. Rhino guy is down. The people are safe. All's good, right? Yeah, right.

Tyres screech on tarmac and three black SUVs are tearing down the street towards me. They stop and a series of guys in black uniforms, all carrying machine guns, file out. There's a woman in a suit too. Blonde, with a face like thunder. I've seen her before.

"Agent Carter," she says. "SHIELD."

"Oh, good, the cavalry has arrived," I say. "Where were you guys when my giant metal friend over there was destroying half the city?"

"What? Couldn't you handle it?"

"Is THAT how SHIELD operates? Who is this guy anyway? One of yours gone rogue? Guy who stole a suit of armour from you?"

"That's classified information."

"Of course it is. I mean, why should you tell me anything? I only saved everyone and stopped the bad guy, free of charge, for about the billionth time."

"I know it's annoying, kid, but you do this on your own. You get answers if and when Fury wants you on our team. As things are, you're lucky we're not arresting you."

"Well there's gratitude for you. You're welcome, by the way."

"We're going to need you to come in for questioning."

"You serious?"

"Fury's orders."

"Um… yeah. Sure. That'll happen."

A second later, I'm swinging away. And Agent Sharon Carter is probably swearing at me under her breath, but whatever. I'm not in the mood. Not today. I mean, it will probably be a cold day in Hell before I ever go in for SHIELD questioning, but it is most definitely not happening today.

An hour later, I'm climbing into my bedroom through the window. So, getting out as Spidey for a while didn't help. Now I'm just slightly bruised and upset. I check the lock on my door, pull off my mask and throw it to the floor. Then I collapse onto my bed. My eyes fall on the jacket draped over the back of my desk chair. It's not mine. It's MJ's. She must have left it when she was last here.

Mary Jane… great. Now I'm thinking about her again. And how totally useless it is to even try to do anything.

I turn over, burying my face in my pillow.

Ugh.


	2. Chapter 2

"Kitty, you want anything?"

What I want is something that is at least a little like a normal life.

"No thanks, Ororo. I'm fine."

I'm not fine. I am so totally not fine. There is nobody on earth who would be fine in my situation.

I am living in some dingy New York apartment, with nobody my age around to talk to or do stuff with, trying not to be noticed (but hey, that seems to come naturally enough). Oh yeah, and just in case that wasn't enough, the world hates me because I'm a mutant. And 'the world' now includes Nick Fury and all of SHIELD.

At least I don't have to spend any more time with Bobby. Oh my God, that was getting unbearable. I mean, having to live with him when he's being that much of a total jerk was bad enough, but having to constantly see him getting off with Rogue a week after he broke up with me… ugh!

Life sucks. Life completely and totally sucks right now. I'm seventeen. I should be allowed to focus on my stupid relationship issues and silly teenage stuff and not have everything else that is going on thrown onto me. I'm seventeen and living in hiding! I can't even go see my mum. There are people out there who will lock me up in some super-secret SHIELD prison as a terrorist if they find me. People who are desperate to get to me and all of the X-Men and make sure we never see the light of day again. I'm seventeen!

This is too much. I am so done with all of this. I wish I could just walk away from the stupid X-Men and make the whole stupid world stop hating mutants so much. I can't do that. Obviously. That would be a good thing and I do not get to have anything good happen to me. Ever. At all.

I need to get out of here. I need to talk to someone who isn't an X-Man. I need proper friends. I need…

"You need a boyfriend."

I look up. It's Jean, smirking from behind the magazine she's reading in the armchair.

"Shut up."

"You were thinking it."

"No I wasn't."

"Uh-huh."

"You were reading my mind without permission," I say, looking up at the ceiling. I'm sprawled on the sofa, half-asleep.

"Could you think a little quieter then?" says Jean.

"Whatever."

"Kitty, you're young. It's normal to want to go do stuff young people do. I get it. I know what you're going through."

"Really? You get accused of being a terrorist when you were my age? Forget it, Jean. It's not like I can speak to a single person outside this apartment. Doesn't matter what I want."

"We're not stopping you going out. We just don't want you contacting the rest of the team. Or anyone SHIELD thinks you might go to."

"Well, yippee. I can go hang out with all those total strangers who are probably dying to meet me. Oh, no, wait, everybody out there would hate me the instant they found out I was a mutant."

"It's not fair," said Jean. "I know."

"It's so not fair. What did we do?"

"Say 'no' to Nick Fury?"

"Nick Fury's a tool."

"He's also the leader of the largest military intelligence organisation on the planet."

"He's still a tool."

"You know," says Jean, putting the magazine down. Great. Now I'll have to listen to one of her lectures. "You could look at this as an opportunity. You're away from the whole team except me and Ororo. Living somewhere new, new people around – why not try to go do something? Meet new people! Try out a part-time job! See the sights!"

"Yeah. Whatever."

I grab the remote from the table and turn on the TV. Jean rolls her eyes. I don't care. I just want to lie here and not do anything and stop worrying about all this stuff I can't stop worrying about.

A news report flashes onto the screen. I'm about to change the channel – because, honestly, it's starting to feel impossible to watch the news for long before someone starts blaming mutants for something – when I see the footage of Spider-Man. He's fighting some guy in a big metal suit (is that thing meant to look like a rhino?). I feel myself smile a little.

"Hey, look – Spider-Man's on the news."

"So?" says Jean.

"Remember that time we met him?"

"Yeah… so?"

"Nothing. Just… nothing…"

I can feel Jean looking at me and I know she's in my mind again.

"No."

"Get out of my head, Jean."

"I don't need to be in your head, it's written all over your face. Kitty, don't be ridiculous."

"How am I being ridiculous?"

"It's a bad idea."

"How?"

"You don't even know him."

"We met that time."

"That was for one day. All you know is he's a guy in a costume."

"He's a good guy in a costume. And he's kinda cute."

"It's a bad idea."

"Right. Because trying to live a life while we're stuck out here is a terrible idea."

"Go meet someone new, Kitty. There's a whole city out there. Don't start chasing some stupid crush."

"What's stupid about it? He's, like, my age! He gets the whole being a totally unappreciated superhero thing! Do you know how difficult it is to find someone I have anything in common with outside of the X-Men?"

"Kitty, I know how you're feeling right now, but… look, I shouldn't have said anything. You do not need to start dating anyone right now. Look how things went with Bobby. You really want to risk repeating that so soon?"

"Bobby's a jerk."

Jean rolls her eyes again. The TV switches to an interview with some guy in the street.

"Uh, yeah," the interviewee's saying, "I don't see why Spider-Man has to get involved. He's just getting in the way and causing more damage. Like, why can't he let the police do their job? But then, I heard he's a mutant, so you know-"

I turn the TV off and chuck the remote back onto the table. I must have thrown it harder than I'd meant to, because suddenly Jean's looking at me and Ororo's poked her head out of the kitchen. I ignore them both and pull myself off the sofa, heading back to my room.

The door's shut. I don't bother opening it. I phase straight through it, walking into the room I've taken and collapsing onto the bed. At least I got my own room, even if it is the most colourless morbid little box I've ever lived in.

Spider-Man. Why am I still thinking about Spider-Man? I met him, like, once. And that was in the middle of a whole X-Men thing. Still, I'd seen his face. And I knew his name. It wasn't a total stranger/celebrity crush thing, right?

I jump off my bed, walk through the wall into the hallway and find the phonebook lying there. I grab it and, stepping lightly to make sure Jean doesn't notice, I tread back into my room, phasing back through the wall.

I'd have used Facebook, but SHIELD are probably watching everything going on there. So instead I flip open the phonebook and look through the names. Please be there, please be there…

I stop at 'Parker, Peter'. Snatching up the phone from the bedside table I punch in the number and listen as it rings.

Oh God, what am I doing?

It's ringing.

He won't pick up.

Still ringing.

He will pick up. Of course he will. He will totally pick up and then what the hell am I supposed to say?

Ringing.

Maybe it's another Peter Parker. Do I want it not to be him? Is that it? Why am I doing this?

"Hello?"

I freeze. I'm sitting here like an idiot, saying nothing. Why am I not saying anything? Oh God, what do I say?

"Hello?" he says again. He's going to think I'm such a weirdo.

"Uh… hi," I manage. "Hey. Hi."

"Hi… Who is this?" He sounds suspicious. Oh no, he is going to think I'm a weirdo.

"Um, is this Peter Parker?"

"Yeah… and you are?"

It's him. It's totally him.

"Kitty Pryde." Silence. "Do you… uh, do you remember me?"

"Yeah! Um, yeah I totally remember you. How did you get my number?"

"You're in the phonebook."

"Oh. Yeah. Right. Okay. What is it? Is there an X-Men thing going on or-?"

"No! Um, no, actually I was just… you're in Queens, right?"

"Yeah."

"It's just… well, I mean there is a whole X-Men thing going on at the minute but it's not a big deal. I mean, that's not why I'm calling it's just… we're not at the mansion right now. I'm actually staying kind of close to Queens and I was wondering… um… do you want to meet up at some point?"

"Like… you and the X-Men?"

Ugh. I suck at this. This was a stupid idea. I'm just one of the X-Men to him. Why would he even think of hanging out with me? This is stupid. I should give up. I should apologise and put the phone down. I'm an idiot.

"Um… no, like, just me. Just the two of us."

Why did I say that?

"Really?"

"Yeah…"

"Like, no costumes or super-people stuff?" he says. "Just us?"

"Yeah…"

What am I doing?!

"Yeah! Sure, yeah!"

Wait. What?

"Really?"

"Yes. Yeah, totally!"

Oh no, this is like a pity, totally-platonic thing, isn't it?

"You don't have a girlfriend do you?"

"No. I mean, I did, but… it's complicated. But no. I am totally single right now."

"Oh. Okay. Sorry! I didn't mean for that to sound so- um, so, tomorrow? When do you get out of class?"

"Like, 3:30."

"Where you at school?"

"Midtown High."

"Cool. So should I meet you there or-?"

"Yeah. Yeah, totally. I'll see you then."

"Okay." I'm grinning. I can't stop grinning. Oh my God! "Okay, cool, see you there."

"Oh, and Kitty?"

My heart stops. Now what? There has to be a catch, or some bad news now doesn't there? Stupid of me to think I would be able to get one little bit of happiness for-

"Thanks for calling like this." What? "This was… this was pretty cool of you. I'll see you tomorrow."

Say something. Say something, Kitty, he's waiting.

"Uh… yeah… yeah, I'll see you tomorrow! Bye!"

I put the phone down. I fall back onto my bed, my arms spread out and the biggest most ridiculous grin on my face.

Oh. My. God.

I've got a date with Spider-Man!


	3. Chapter 3

I've got a date with one of the X-Men!

I mean, wow! I mean, really, wow! This stuff doesn't happen to me! It just doesn't! My teacher's saying something. I should probably be listening. It sounds important. But any minute now that bell is going to ring and I'm going to be going out on a date with Kitty Pryde. Wow!

What if she doesn't show? No, don't be stupid, Parker. Why wouldn't she show? She called me, right? Yeah, but knowing my luck…

What if something comes up? What if some stupid Spider-Man thing comes up and I have to go fight some superpowered maniac or… or something? What if the minute I walk out of this school my spider sense flares up and something explodes and I just have to go and then I blow my chance here?

Calm. Down. Pete. You barely know the girl. If things don't work out here, it's not the end of the world.

Actually, things not working out I can handle. But I would like a shot at making things work out in the first place.

I really, really hope she shows.

The bell rings.

People are moving. I'm moving. I'm out of the classroom. Was I out too quickly? I didn't go all super spider-speed there, did I?

Doesn't matter. I'm at my locker.

Oh my God, what am I doing? I mean, really, what am I doing?

She probably won't even show. It will be fine.

Wait. Don't I want her to show? Would I rather just go home and carry on being miserable?

No. Totally not. No.

I really hope she shows.

So why am I so terrified?

My heart's beating a mile a minute as I move with the crowd that's heading to the doors. Wow, people are slow. I mean, really slow. Why are we walking out of here so slowly?

Actually, can I not just stop and think about this a minute? I mean, what am I doing? Whoo, boy.

Get a hold of yourself, Parker! Yesterday you were fighting a giant robotic rhino. A few weeks ago it was a man made of electricity. And before that, Doctor Octopus. You've got this, Parker! I have totally got this.

Why don't I feel like I've got this?

The sunlight hits my face as I step outside and suddenly I'm shaking so damn much. This is totally pathetic. Just man up. It's no big deal. She's probably not even here. Look, just students leaving, strangers, Flash picking a fight with someone…

Oh my God.

Is that…?

Yeah, that is. That's her.

Kitty Pryde is stood right over there.

She's waiting for me. Has she seen me? Should I wait or…?

She looks over. I wave instinctively. Should I have done that? Did I want to wave? Shouldn't I be taking a minute or… something?

She waves back. I think she's smiling.

Oh boy. Here goes.

I walk over to her and I am either walking way too fast or way too slow, but either way I think I might trip over and make a total fool of myself any second. But I don't. Of course I don't. That's me being stupid. Come on, Parker! Head in the game! Don't be an idiot!

She's standing there, under a tree, smiling at me. Actually, she looks kind of nervous. I mean, she looks amazing, but nervous. Has she changed her mind? Oh my God, what am I doing?

"Hey," I say, with more effort than it usually takes to say 'hey'.

"Hi."

"You, uh… you showed then."

"Of course I showed. It's… it's good to see you again."

"Yeah, and you. Nice to see you when we don't have some crazy superhero team-up thing on our hands!"

"Totally. So… is there a plan?"

"I'm terrible at making plans. I'm usually the one messing up other people's plans!"

She grins a little. I think. Oh, please, tell me there is someone else on Earth who finds me funny. Otherwise my endless stupid jokes could really screw things up here.

"No plan then?" she says.

"There is no plan." I should have planned something. Why is there no plan?

"Anywhere you want to go? What do normal high school students do after school?"

Don't suggest going back to mine. We've got to go somewhere. Don't say the mall – that place is disgusting. Don't say a movie – that's clichéd, stupid and the movie theatre here is disgusting. Do not suggest a fast food place, because – why is everywhere around here disgusting? Ugh. Just say something to her!

"Well, most people hang out at the mall." Damn it! "I mean, I think. I have no social life anymore."

"Tell me about it! Me too."

"Saving the world is a real time-consuming hobby, huh?"

"So… the mall?"

"Yeah. It's… alright, up there! There are some places to eat if you want to grab a bite or something."

"Yeah, sure."

She said yes. That's… that is good! Focus on that. Focus on the yes and not how much of a total idiot you sound. Mall. Right. Mall… How do people get to the mall?

A little while later we're at the mall. Turns out people take a bus to get here. I don't know why I couldn't remember that. I could feel my heartbeat the entire bus ride with Kitty. I mean, we were ridiculously awkward, but we'll get over that, right? It's just so good to be spending time with someone. Especially someone who gets the whole superhero thing. Wow, do I need this!

Although, what I need more right now, is somewhere to eat that's not just plain tacky. I mean, this isn't exactly a fancy date or anything, but it would be nice to find a joint that looks like they've made some sort of effort to accommodate actual human beings.

"You always this picky about your restaurants, Parker?"

Nuts. Am I screwing this up?

"Hey, can't blame a guy for trying to find a nice place!"

"I just want somewhere to sit down and talk," says Kitty with a grin. "And, actually, can we go somewhere kind of… out of the way?"

"Out of the way? Kitty, we're in the middle of a shopping mall!"

"I know, but I just want to feel like I'm not sort of out in the open."

"Why?" I look at her at my side. She doesn't meet my gaze. "Is everything okay?"

"It's a whole thing."

"Like… an X-Men thing?"

She winces when I say it and looks away. Nice going, Parker. Kitty probably wanted an afternoon away from all that crap and you have to go bring it up again. Idiot.

"Know what?" I say. "Don't worry about it. Let's just be normal teenagers for an afternoon."

"Can we be? Like, please? I'd really like to be a normal teenager for once."

"Oh, believe me, it still sucks," I say. "But sure."

"Can't suck as much as… never mind. Sorry! I'm being a total downer."

"No you're not. It's fine." Come on, Parker. Don't screw this up already. "Want to get a coffee? Starbucks is quiet-ish."

"Sure. Coffee sounds good."

The coffee, it turns out, actually is good. I cannot tell you how unbelievably relieved I am by that. Kitty's sat across the table from me, smiling at me over her cup of coffee. Wow, that smile… I'm smiling back. I can't help it.

"So, you spend a lot of your spare time here?" she asks.

"Honestly, I could barely remember what this place looked like!"

"You live like twenty minutes away!"

"Yeah, but between school and swinging around and my job at the Bugle, I don't get a whole lot of downtime."

"Saw some of your pictures in the Bugle," says Kitty, before looking down into her drink, avoiding my gaze.

"Yeah?"

"Mm. You're taking selfies for a living?"

I laugh a little.

"I… well, that's one way of looking at it!"

"Narcissist!"

"I am not a narcissist!"

"You are totally posing for the camera in all those pictures."

"I… well…"

"Knew it."

We both laugh this time and I take a sip of my coffee, my eyes still on Kitty. I can't stop looking at her. Her thick chestnut hair, her bright green eyes, that smile I cannot get out of my head… nice to know my luck can change.

"Why do you do it?" she asks me.

"Do what?"

"Sell the pictures to the Bugle. You know they're only going to print crap about you."

"Nobody reads the Bugle."

"Still…"

"I… I really need the money. I've got to help out at home, try to do my bit for my aunt. Ever since my uncle died…"

I look down, staring into my drink.

"Are you okay? Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine. Sorry, no, it's fine," I say, looking back up. Kitty's hand is on mine and she's biting her lip as she looks across the table at me.

"You should try show biz or something," she says. "With your powers…"

"Tried it once. Didn't work out. Besides, with everything we can do, we've got to try to help people out, right?"

"Very noble of you, Mr Parker."

"I try my best, Miss Pryde."

She's leaning in closer, across the table. So am I. Oh my God.

"Sounds like a big responsibility," she says.

"Tell me about it."

"Ever wish you could just have a day off? Do the things you want to do?"

"All the time."

"We must have earned one, right?"

"Totally."

We both lean in. I take hold of her hand. Oh God. Oh wow. Our faces are inches apart. My eyes close. I can feel her breath on my lips. Oh my God…

BOOM!

No. No, no, no. No!

Our eyes are open and we're both looking out the store window, into the mall. Smoke is filling it, debris falling from the higher levels.

Seriously?

I mean, seriously? Now?!

Why?! Why does this always happen? I can never just enjoy a moment without something going wrong. This is not fair!

"You've got to go?" says Kitty.

I want nothing more in the world than to tell her, no, I don't have to go. Forget it. The police can deal with it for once, because this time I just want to stay with you, go somewhere quiet and enjoy being with you. I want to have fun. I want to put you first, rather than always putting my stupid costume before everything else.

"I've got to go," I say.

"I'd come with you, but we've got this whole… thing. X-Men are keeping a low profile right now."

"Low profile?"

"I'll explain later. Go."

I get up. Something moves in the smoke, swoops out of it, coming into view. A man in dark green body armour. His head is bald and two metal wings on his back are keeping him airborne. The Vulture. Trust a grumpy old guy like him to ruin a perfectly good date.

I run out of the coffee store, cursing under my breath. WHY NOW? And who the hell attacks the mall? Come to think of it, who flies around in a big bird costume and decides that's enough to qualify as a supervillain?

"Run, you prattling fools! The Vulture has returned!"

This guy really needs some new material. I mean, really.

I run into an elevator, smashing the button to shut the doors. As soon as they're closed, I slip my webshooters into place and rip open my shirt, Spidey costume ready underneath. And one short change later…

"I swear, if my coffee goes cold because of this, I am going to be really mad."

The Vulture turns to look at me as I leap down from the wall, landing on him in mid-air. He falters and stumbles backwards. (Is it still stumbling when he's flying?) I strike him with my fist and he's reeling through the air. I jump down, landing crouched on the barrier of a second storey balcony.

"Spider-Man!"

"Guy who's too old to be dressing up like a bird!"

"Silence, you imbecile!" He throws a grenade my way. Hate these things. Little high-tech bombs he keeps hidden in his armour. I mean, that is basically cheating.

_Thwip!_ I shoot off a burst of webbing, wrapping up the bomb. There's a dull 'bang' as it explodes. The webbing contains it. The Vulture's not looking too happy now. But then, neither am I.

"Seriously, bird brain, what are you even doing here? What do you gain by blowing up half the mall?" I jump out of the way as he swoops down at me, the razor-sharp edges of his wings missing me by inches. "I mean, I can see what the local community gains in this place's destruction, but what are you doing here?"

"I have always preyed on the young!"

"You're just a really bitter old man, aren't you? Is this about your bald patch?"

A wing lashes out at me. I dive back, make another leap and stick to the underside of an escalator.

"I mean, I say 'patch'… is this about your baldness?"

"Silence!"

Spider sense. Another grenade. I jump down, dodging it… but not dodging the next one he throws. It goes off before I've even landed and hurls me to the ground floor.

Ouch. Ow. Ow. Ouch. Everything's actually looking a little dark right now. Was the world always this blurry?

Vulture lands right in front of me. This isn't good.

"Look! Look what I did to your Spider-Man! Soon you will all fear the Vulture!"

Got to do something… got to get up… keep breathing, Parker. Keep moving. Come on!

Wait… is that… Kitty?

She's behind the Vulture. What's she doing?

She walks right past him, just behind his back, and then…

There's a crackle of electricity across his armour. A puff of smoke bursts out of the wings.

"What?! No! What's happened?!"

He grabs at his wings, trying to lift them, and falls onto his back. Whatever's happened, I'm not waiting for him to get back up. I scramble to my feet and leap upwards, landing high up on the wall.

"What's the matter, Vulchy? Problems with your suit?"

"What did you do?!"

"I didn't do anything! Honest!"

I grab him with a web-line and hoist him up, suspending him from the wall. Then I jump back down to the floor and shoot up another load of webbing, trapping him there.

"Now, you just stick to that wall and think about what you did!"

"This isn't over, Spider-Man!"

"Yeah… Yes it is."

I take a quick look around and spot Kitty, smiling down at me from the top floor of the mall. I jump, land on the wall and climb to the top, where I hurdle over the barrier of the balcony to meet her. She's alone up here.

"Nice going," she says.

"What did you do?"

"Hm? Oh, well, you know how I can phase through stuff?"

"Yeah…"

"If I pass through anything mechanical – like the bald eagle's flying suit – it sort of breaks it."

"The Bald Eagle?"

"Or whatever you call him."

"That was the deadly Vulture."

"You have such lame villains!"

"Take that back!"

"No." She grins at me. "Can we get out of here?"

"Yes. We definitely can."

In a few minutes, we're stood on a rooftop a little distance from the mall, the sun setting across New York. The view is amazing. Kitty seems captivated – she's stood at the edge of the roof, just looking out at it. I think I'm paying more attention to her than the view.

I put my backpack down and leave my mask on top of it before I walk over to her. Maybe the costume gives me a confidence boost. I mean, let's be honest, you've got to be pretty darn confident to walk around in bright red and blue spandex. Wrapping my arms around her waist from behind, I rest my head against hers. I don't want to move. Like, ever. I just want to stay here, right now, with Kitty Pryde in my arms.

"The view's beautiful up here," she says.

"Yeah. Yeah it definitely is."

She turns to face me, still stood in my arms. Our foreheads touch, our heads bowed against each other. She's stood right up against me. She must be able to feel my heart beating in my chest and hear my every breath. Everything suddenly seems too big, too loud, and for some reason I'm wondering if I'll pass out.

"Peter…"

"Kitty?"

"I, um… in the coffee shop, before that got weird…"

"Yeah?"

"I was… I mean… were you about to…"

Costume. Confidence boost. I'm convinced.

"Kiss you?" I say. She looks up at me and I'm looking down at her. I'm looking right into her emerald eyes and I suddenly couldn't possibly look anywhere else. "Yes."

She opens her mouth to say something. I'm frozen. I'm waiting. I don't know what's coming next. I think… I think I've stopped breathing. I can't tell if I'm breathing or not. How long is it safe to go without breathing?

She closes her mouth again, biting her bottom lip, staring right into my eyes. My heart is pounding. What do I do? Am I meant to just wait for her to do something? Because apparently that's what I'm doing and I've forgotten how to do anything other than just stand here, dumbstruck.

Don't be stupid, Parker. Do something.

In the next second I think we both have exactly the same thought. Because, at exactly the same time, our eyes shut, we lean in and our lips meet.

I am aware of nothing but our kiss. My lips moving slowly, softly, against Kitty's, our arms around each other. There is nothing else in the entire world right now.

Wow.

We pull apart, looking into each other's eyes, smiling.

"That was…"

"Yeah."

"I should go," she says.

"Me too."

"I should really, really be going."

"Me too."

We don't move. We stay there, stood against the New York sunset and our lips meet again.


	4. Chapter 4

Wow. Okay, really, wow. Let's try not to screw this up, shall we?

I'm going to call her. I'm going to call her now, as soon as I'm in. This is totally insane.

I swing down from my roof, in through my bedroom window, landing heavily on the floor. Normally I'm a little softer on the landings. I'm not thinking about what I'm doing. Well, either that or the nice new bruises I have courtesy of the Vulture are suddenly starting to hurt.

Okay, yeah, actually… ow. That is painful. Guess I sort of didn't pay much attention to that before. Ow.

I sit down on the floor and pull my mask off. And suddenly I'm laughing. Man, I have not been this happy in ages. Dating an X-Man. Dating Kitty Pryde. I kissed her and, I mean… wow!

The front door slams shut downstairs.

"Peter? Are you in?" Aunt May, back from work.

"Yeah, I'll be down in a minute!"

I scramble over to my closet, pulling the door open and flipping up the lid of the chest that sits at the bottom. I throw my mask in, along with my gloves and boots. Then I wriggle out of the shirt – this thing is so difficult to get out of. Seriously, lycra is a bitch to escape from. I finally prise it off my body and then throw it into the chest, along with the pants of my suit, and shut the closet door.

I catch my reflection in the mirror. Big purple bruises are dotted across my body. I wince a little as I bring my hand to my chest, touching one of the marks. Ow! Should all heal up quickly – thank you, spider powers – but it's going to be painful for a while. And chances are, just as it does heal up, I'm going to get another whupping like the one I got today. Oh, it's a fun life.

I go to my bag, yanking my clothes out of it and grabbing my cell phone. I type in the number Kitty scrawled on my arm and hold it to my ear as I pick up my jeans. It only rings a couple of times before she picks up.

"Hey!" she says.

"Hey, you okay?"

Turns out it's really difficult to put your jeans on while holding your phone with one hand.

"Yeah. Thanks again for swinging me home."

"No problem. Nice-looking apartment you've got."

"Uuuugh. Don't!"

"Oh, come on, it can't be that bad!"

"Did you see the X-Mansion? This is hardly a step-up."

"I know, I know, it must be so terrible not living in a mansion! My heart bleeds!"

"Shut up, Mr Parker! But I guess it is kinda nice just having the three of us here."

"Not missing the rest of the X-Men?" I'm doing some weird hopping dance thing, trying to get into these jeans.

"No! Imagine having to live with all the students in your school."

"I would honestly rather spend an afternoon fighting the Hulk."

"Exactly."

I try to pull up my jeans and trip on them, falling to the floor with a heavy 'thud'. Owww. The bruises are not helping! I bite down on my lip, trying not to groan.

"Peter? What was that?"

"Nothing," I say.

"You sure?"

"Mhmm."

"PETER!" It's Aunt May, yelling from downstairs. Suddenly I can hear her coming up. Crap. "Peter, what was that?"

"Gimme a sec," I say to Kitty.

I hold the phone against my chest for a second.

"Nothing, Aunt May!"

She's coming to my room. Getting caught in my underwear might not exactly be ideal, but having to explain the bruises would be beyond not ideal. Which is probably why I instinctively fling my hand out and web my door shut. Probably shouldn't have done that. I have no idea how I would explain that.

She knocks.

"Peter?"

"Nothing, Aunt May, I just… uh… knocked my chair over. Sorry! I'll be down in a bit."

"Okay. As long as you're alright…"

"I'm fine, Aunt May! Just give me a minute."

"Okay, Peter."

I hear her footsteps move away on the other side of the door. Phew. I pull my jeans up and put the phone back to my ear.

"Hey. Sorry about that. So, uh… you want to meet up again some time?"

"Sure!" says Kitty. "I mean, you know, if you want to. Don't, um, y'know, don't feel obliged."

"I totally want to."

"You mean that?"

"Today was… today was great. I mean, you know, apart from that bit where I fought a man dressed as a big green bird."

"Such lame villains…"

"Hey, if you want a second date, you're going to have to stop insulting my villains!"

I can almost hear her smiling. I'm certainly grinning all of a sudden.

"You need to get yourself some better villains then!"

"Like the X-Men have done any better!"

"Have you seen Magneto?"

"Well…"

"Mojo?"

"I don't even know what that is."

"Well, he'd kick your butt!"

"I don't need to take this!"

She laughs. I love that laugh. Why is every little thing about this girl getting into my head?

"Sorry. You still have cooler villains than the Avengers."

"Don't they just beat each other up?"

"This is true."

"I mean, they never seem to be around when I need them," I say, scooping up my shirt.

"They're probably all too busy being smug because they have their own tower."

"I want a tower…"

"You should come stay at the mansion. If we ever move back in."

"This is totally not fair. You get a mansion, the Avengers get a tower, the Fantastic Four get a tower… Know what I have? I have a house in Queens. And I don't even own the house!"

Kitty laughs again. And then…

"Could I come chill at your house some time?"

"You want to come over?"

"Sure. If that's cool with you and your aunt."

"Yeah. Totally! You around tomorrow?"

"I am around every day, because my schedule currently consists of sitting inside, pretending I don't exist, not talking to anyone."

"Well, mine is full of school and trying to sell photos for anything I can get and being a superhero everyone hates, so if you want to switch…"

"I'll think about it!" she says. "Tomorrow then? After school again?"

"I've got to swing by the Bugle first. Want to meet me there? I think it's actually closer to yours than the school is."

"Sure. What time?"

"Probably around five?"

"Okay. Daily Bugle, yeah?"

"Yeah. Meet me out the front. I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"You will see me tomorrow! Take care, Pete."

"Yeah, you too."

I put the phone down. I'm seeing her again. That's happening. Things are looking up for once. Ha! The old Parker luck is definitely changing!

I pull my shirt on and go over to the door. Which is stuck shut with a big splatter of webbing. Ah. This stuff is a nightmare to get off. I mean, that's sort of the point. Why did I web my door shut? Idiot! I grab the web with both hands, trying to tug it away from the door. It stretches a little, but it's stuck tight on. Oh, nice going, Parker. At least you know your web fluid works. I get my foot up on the wall as I keep pulling. It's still not yielding. I put my other foot up onto the wall, sticking myself in place as I yank on the web. It gives way. And I fall back as it does.

Thud!

"PETER!"

"I'M FINE!" Ow. Idiot.

"Sorry," I'm saying, as I hurry downstairs. "Got to move that chair."

"You've got to stop being so clumsy all the time," says Aunt May, as I come into the kitchen. "I was going to do meatloaf for dinner. That okay?"

"Mm."

"Mm? What does that mean, 'mm'?"

"Means mm, yeah, fine. Meatloaf."

"Fine like 'it will do' or fine like 'thank you, Aunt May, for cooking a lovely dinner for me'?"

"Meatloaf's good!" I say, grabbing a Coke from of the fridge. She's giving me the glare. "Thank you, Aunt May," I say.

I pop the can open and take a swig, feeling the fizz in my mouth. I really need a drink. My mouth has been so dry today.

"You're welcome. So, good day?"

Well, I went out with one of the X-Men and fought off the Vulture, so…

"Not bad. Uh, is it cool if I have a friend round tomorrow, maybe for dinner?"

"Sure. Which friend?"

"You don't know her."

"Her?"

"Yeah, her… Her name's Kitty."

"You know I'm working late tomorrow."

"I'm sure we can look after ourselves!"

"That's what I'm worried about."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I ask. She's giving me the glare again.

"I don't want any hanky panky."

"Oh my God."

"Peter!"

"Aunt May!"

"I mean it, Peter."

"I know! No, Aunt May, we're not going to… no!"

"Well, I suppose I can't exactly stop you having someone over."

Especially when that someone can walk straight through any locked door or solid wall.

"Thank you," I say.

"You sold any more pictures to Jameson lately?"

"I'm going to see him tomorrow," I say. "That should be fun…"


	5. Chapter 5

"Urich, you bring me one more story about giant lizards in the sewers and you are fired, understand?! I don't want any more of this crap! Robbie, that interview with Wilson Fisk was due on my desk FIFTEEN MINUTES AGO! Brock, give me those photos… these are crap. Get out of my office and stay the hell away from my newspaper until you can give me something that even a slightly reputable publisher would print! Ms Brant, cancel my six o'clock, move tomorrow's two o'clock to one o'clock and move Thursday's three o'clock to twelve o'clock and then cancel it! Robbie, what the hell are you waiting for, Chinese New Year? And PLEASE, will SOMEONE give me something for the front page about the rhino guy on Sunday and that nut with the wings who was in the mall yesterday? No, I'm not interested in those two whack jobs! I want the story on the whack job who was hanging around with both of them! I WANT SPIDER-MAN!"

Oh boy. It's one of those days. It always is in the office of Jolly Jonah Jameson.

I hate this newspaper. I really do. But Jameson's just about the only guy in town who's willing to buy my pictures. I mean, I am Spider-Man and I can only sell my photos – OF SPIDER-MAN – to one newspaper! There should be a bidding war for these pictures! Sometimes I really wish I could go public. Must be fun to be a Tony Stark or a Steve Rogers, with all the admiration and security you could ever want.

Oh well. Let's try to make this as painless as possible.

"Hey, Ms Brant," I say, approaching Jonah's receptionist. "Is it safe to go in?"

"You might want to give it a minute, Peter-"

"PARKER!"

"Mr Jameson will see you now," says Betty Brant with a smile. Oh goodie.

JJ leads the way into his office, cigar clamped firmly in place just beneath that goofy moustache of his. As usual. I'm starting to wonder if he's been smoking the same cigar his entire life.

"Parker, where have you been?! Why weren't you here half an hour ago?"

"I was in school, Mr Jameson."

"Teenagers! Typical! Don't know why I employ you!"

"Actually, you don't, I'm a freelancer…"

"Shut up! Sit down! What have you got? Quickly, Parker, I don't have all day!"

I hand Jonah a folder of printed photos. Any other photographer at any other newspaper would email the pictures across, but I come see JJ in person just to make sure I can negotiate for a fair wage. And so he can't actually get the pictures until he's agreed to pay me. I wouldn't put it past him to try and take them for nothing if I sent them in an email straight away.

He flips through the photos of Spider-Man, the Rhino and the Vulture, still chomping on that cigar. (Seriously, I have never seen that thing go out. He could have had that one cigar in his mouth for the last twenty years.)

"Crap… crap… crap… crap… more crap…" He looks up at me. "Hundred bucks."

"If that's all you're going to offer me, I'll take them to the New York Post."

"Hundred and fifty, but that's my maximum offer!"

"Three hundred."

"That's outrageous!"

"I think it's fair for what I've given you!"

"Kid, out of these photos, precisely one is good enough to make it into my paper! I'll offer you one seventy-five and I suggest you take it because it is my final offer and if you don't want it, you can forget ever coming in here again!"

"Fine. One seven five. Done."

"Good boy. Damn teenagers. Always trying to short-change honest businessmen, like me! What do you even need the money for? Video games and underage drinking? That's all you youths seem to get up to these days!"

How about helping support my aunt, who is trying to raise me on her own and struggling to bring in enough income for the two of us? Or, how about buying the stuff I need for web fluid, which is ridiculously expensive. I desperately need a proper job.

"Mr Jameson, I really think when you print these stories, you should maybe consider that Spider-Man's trying to help out," I say as I get up.

"Oh, is that what you think? Well, you are WRONG, Parker! Spider-Man is an outlaw and a menace! Look at him – who's he helping? He gets in the way of the police and just adds to the destruction these criminal lunatics cause! He's worse than all of them! He might think he's playing hero, but there is a system in this country and it's in place for a reason! When he goes charging in, he only risks more lives and causes more damage! He's no hero, he's a glory hound! Now get out of my office and stop talking nonsense!"

And that is my cue to leave. I tried. Don't know why I ever bother trying to get through to JJ. I always get the same response. I hear some of the usual conversation between Jolly Jonah and his employees as I leave.

"URICH! Where is that story on the lizards?!"

"But you said-"

"Don't tell me what I said! Get me what I want! Now! Or you're fired!"

As soon as I'm out the front door of the Bugle, I turn to the wall and bang my head against it. Why can I not be treated fairly here? A fair wage that gets me enough money to help out at home is all I'm asking for. And, y'know, not being the target of so much hate for trying to do the right thing would be nice. What would be nicer is if I didn't have to willingly help the man who is fuelling the public hatred of me. This totally sucks. Why can't something good happen?

"Bad day?" says Kitty, over my shoulder.

Okay, sometimes good things do happen.

I turn to look at her and her arms wrap around my neck, her bright green eyes looking up at me with a warm grin.

"Something like that," I say. "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay. It's good to get out."

"You have no idea how good it is to see you," I say.

"Really?"

"Absolutely. Want to head back to mine?"

"I'd love to."

She takes my hand and we head over to the bus stop. Just being around her is intoxicating. I want to kiss her again… is it too soon? Would it have been very out of the blue if I'd kissed her when she turned up? I mean, was that a spur of the moment first date thing or are we actually trying to get somewhere a little more serious with this?

Serious… how do I mean, serious? That's kind of a scary word right now. I mean, we have only just started dating and with everything I do – everything we both do – I'm still not sure where I am with the whole relationship thing and I have only just broken up with MJ and what if…

Easy. Easy, Parker. Don't rush into anything. See where this goes. If today goes well, start thinking about this a little more seriously. For now, just hold her hand, smile and enjoy this.

Before long, we're back at mine. No rampaging evil maniacs to take care of for once. Things are actually going well and I have made it safely with Kitty to the front door.

"Hey," she says, as I fish for the keys in my pocket, "want to try something cool?"

"What?"

"Your aunt's out, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Give me your hand." I put my hand in hers. "Promise me you won't freak out, okay?"

"What?"

"This might be a little weird, but you'll be fine. Just promise you won't freak."

"Kitty, I won't freak out."

She walks forwards, pulling me along with her, and passes straight through the wall. I have just enough time to see her do it before I've stepped through and into the house. The wall just passed through me. That was weird. It was like, for a minute, I was all weightless and everything was sort of… muffled. That was weird. Cool, but weird.

"Did you just phase me?" I say.

"Pretty awesome, right?"

"You can phase other people?"

"Yeah! As long as I'm touching them."

"Okay, that is kind of cool!"

"I know, right?" She looks over the hallway. "So, this is your house?"

"This is my house."

"No secret spider-lairs then?"

"I have a basement and a bedroom and that's about as close as I get."

"Ha!"

"I mean, I want to get a giant mutant-tracking device powered by my mind and an advanced interactive holographic training room, but for now I'm making do."

Kitty laughs and throws her arms around me again. My heart leaps every time she does that.

"I love it. It's all like a proper home!"

"I thought you were hating your non-X-Mansion home?"

"Yeah, but that's because it looks like a prison. This is nice."

"Well, I'm so glad you like it, Miss Pryde! Do you think you'll be buying the house?"

"That depends – do you come with it, Mr Parker?"

Her finger bounces on my nose and her hand drops back to my neck.

"I'm sure we could work something out," I say and place a kiss on the back of her hand.

She grins, blushing a little. I think I'm blushing too. Am I blushing? Oh great. Why am I such a child?

We kick off our shoes and head into the living room. We both fall onto the sofa, Kitty leaning on me, her head against my chest. I stroke her hair, running my fingers over the thick chestnut locks while she lies there. She grabs the remote and turns on the TV.

"Ten bucks says you're on the news again," she says.

"Twenty says the reporter hates me."

She laughs and turns, lying on my lap, looking up at me. I lower my hand, draping it across her waist.

"So, how are you finding life down here in Queens?" I ask.

"It's better when I do actually get to come out into Queens. Staying in that apartment is driving me mad. Jean and Ororo will not stop winding me up! It's impossible to get a moment's peace with them."

"At least you don't have to hide your powers. I swear, one day Aunt May is going to walk into a room full of webs."

"You could always blame it on a spider infestation."

I laugh and Kitty smiles up at me.

"Come on, though," I say. "It must be kind of cool to live with people with powers. Three girls with superpowers in a New York apartment? I mean, that's a sitcom waiting to happen!"

"You'd think, but Jean just gets in my head all the time and then blames it on me, so that kind of sucks."

"Really? Isn't that, like, a major breach of personal privacy?"

"I know, right? She plays it all cool and professional when the rest of the team are around but when it's just her bestie, Storm, and the stupid kid of the team-"

"Hey," I say. "Kitty, you are not a stupid kid. You're an amazing girl."

"Thanks, Pete. But they don't see it that way."

"Who needs 'em? The world's full of people desperate to tell you that you're too young and stupid to matter. And you know why?"

"Because they screwed up."

"Because they screwed up. And they think because they've let their own lives become hell-"

"That they've got the right to tear into us because all this stuff we do hasn't screwed us up enough yet. Like we shouldn't be allowed to be happier than they are."

"It's so stupid."

"It really is," says Kitty. "I mean, what we do is difficult, but that doesn't mean we have to sacrifice being happy, right?"

"Right. There's no reason we shouldn't still be able to enjoy the stuff non-super-people enjoy."

"Like hanging around with the people we want to hang around with," says Kitty.

"And dating," I say. Kitty's sitting up a little in my lap. I'm leaning down towards her.

"And falling-"

It's the TV that cuts her off.

"The X-Men: America's Most Wanted," says the news reporter. What?! We're both watching, the moment we could have been sharing – you know, if life wasn't so full of crap – suddenly forgotten. "SHIELD has today released a list of profiles of members of the mutant terrorist group known as the X-Men, recently accused of a counter-intelligence operation and an attack on the SHIELD headquarters at the Triskelion. SHIELD has warned that the X-Men are to be treated as armed and extremely dangerous."

Kitty grabs the remote, turning it off. The smiles are all gone. Even with her face half turned away from me, I can see there's anger on her features and, I think, tears in her eyes.

"It's not fair. So much crap I have to put up with."

"Kitty, what…"

"Don't you dare ask me to explain this to you!" she snaps, turning to look at me again, her eyes ablaze. "Don't you dare, Peter! I have had enough of the accusations and the explanations and everything else with this whole stupid thing! I have been kicked out of my home and kept from my friends! And it's not fair!"

"Hey," I whisper, putting my hand on her shoulder. She's on the brink of tears. I pull her into a hug and she buries her face against my chest as she starts to sob. I rest my head on the back of hers, holding her in both my arms. "It's okay, Kitty. It will be okay."

"It's not fair."

I hold her tight, shutting my eyes. What the hell is wrong with this world? Why do things like this happen to good people? People who aren't even twenty years old yet! She's right. Nothing about our lives is fair. I keep hold of her. I'm not letting go. Not as long as she needs someone here.

She looks up a little and I kiss her forehead.

"I'm sorry," she whispers.

"Don't be. It's fine."

"I shouldn't have got mad at you."

"I get it. Really. It's okay, Kitty."

"Why the mutants? In a world full of super soldiers and Iron Men and human torches, why is it only mutants that get all this hate? What difference does it make if we're born with powers or… or…"

"Bitten by a radioactive spider?" I say. "I don't know."

"The world sucks."

"Yeah, it does. It's full of morons and there's always going to be people who can't accept you for some reason or other. That's why you need people who can see how special you really are."

"Yeah," she says. "Thank you, Pete."

"I mean it. You are amazing."

Silence for a moment as she wraps her arms around me and we just sit there, holding each other. I place another kiss on her forehead.

"I'm hungry," she murmurs, finally.

"Huh?"

"Want to get something to eat?"

"Sure. Eat out, or…?"

"Can we stay here?" she says. "I'd rather it was just the two of us."

"Yeah, me too. Pizza?"

"Pizza sounds good."

"Cool. Pizza then."

I call out for pizza while Kitty wanders around the house and then, a short while later, we're sat on the living room floor by a box of pizza.

"So…" says Kitty. There's something uncertain in her voice. Oh no… what is it? "I… um… I'm going to go ahead and assume the pink hoodie I saw in your room isn't yours."

"Oh… that," I pick up another slice of pizza and take a bite – I think I'm just looking for a distraction. "It's my ex's. We, um… we only broke up recently. I've been meaning to get it back to her, but… y'know. Who likes visiting their ex, right?"

"Try living with them," says Kitty. She offers me a small smile. "So… what happened?"

"I couldn't protect her," I say. "She knew I was Spider-Man and that kept making her a target for my enemies. I have way too many enemies who know who I am. And I kept getting mad at her – she wouldn't listen when I told her to stay away, to keep safe, when I was dealing with whatever psychopathic monster was trying to kill me."

"Seriously? So… you ended it?"

"Actually, she did. I think it was all just too much for her to be involved with and she felt like I was pushing her away, or… or sometimes just unloading stuff onto her and it was too much. I guess she was right."

"You've got to talk to someone about all this, Peter," says Kitty. "And we all want to keep the people close to us safe. So…" She looks away. A strand of hair falls across her face and her hands are fidgeting in her lap. "So, um, like, with the whole what you do putting people in danger… does that mean you can't have a serious relationship? Like, ever?"

"I don't know," I say. I can't bring myself to look at her. "I… I just don't see how I could drag anyone else into this."

"What if… what if that person had, like, powers too? So they could take care of themselves and not get hurt in big crazy superhero fights? I mean, could you be in something long-term with another superhero?" I look at her and she's staring back at me. I can't respond. I… what do I say? What do I want to say? Her eyes close for a minute. "Dammit. Sorry! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to… that was stupid. That massively forward and I shouldn't have…"

She starts to get up and I put a hand on her shoulder, keeping her there.

"Yes," I say and she looks right into my eyes again. "I mean, I hadn't really thought about it, but maybe. Maybe I need – well, maybe we both need – someone who can do all this stuff too. Someone who understands what it's like."

"Yeah?" she says, sitting back down, cross-legged. She brushes her hair back as she looks at me. "You don't think I'm, like, a total creep for being all forward all of a sudden?"

I can't get over how beautiful she looks. I mean, I'm the quiet nerdy kid. When did girls like this start even talking to me?

"You're not a creep, you're… cute."

"Cute? Cute is good."

"Mm. Cute with just a dab of pizza sauce!" She laughs a little and I wipe away the spot of sauce from the corner of her mouth. My hand stays there, resting on her cheek. She places her hand on mine.

Before I know what's happening, I'm leaning forwards, Kitty's face cupped in both my hands. My lips find hers and I'm lost in a kiss. I feel her arms wrapping around me and I'm vaguely aware of the sudden movement that leaves us on the floor, Kitty on her back while I lean over her. All the while, the kiss lingers, grows deeper, as we hold each other and refuse to let go.

Our lips part and I rest my forehead against hers for a moment. This is… wow. This is actually happening. Am I, like, going to wake up in a minute, or…?

I lift my head a little to look down into Kitty's eyes. She tightens her arms around me, pulling me into a hug. And I'm holding her, my arms joining behind her back.

"Can we stay like this?" she whispers. "I don't want to go home and be an X-Man. I just… I want this."

"Me too," I say.

"Why can't we just stop saving the world and be a normal couple?"

"Responsibility sucks sometimes," I say. "But normal's boring anyway."

"True… So, forget normal. Are we still going to… I mean, are we, like, a 'couple' couple?"

"Like, you and me, official, girlfriend and boyfriend, sort of couple?"

"Yeah…" she says.

"Yeah. If you want."

"Do you want to be?"

Do I want to be? Am I actually about to start a proper relationship with Kitty? I mean, this is a whole big sudden thing. Is this really what I want right now?

"Yes."

"Me too."

The hug loosens. Kitty lies on the floor, looking up at me and the same smile is on both our faces.

"Okay," I say. "Then I pronounce us the world's cutest superpowered couple."

She laughs. I lean down, my lips touching hers and then-

The click of the front door opening. Aunt May. Crap. Lost track of time. I roll aside, grab Kitty's hand and pull her up with me. In a split-second, we're both sat on the sofa. I swipe the pizza box from the floor and drop it on the table.

The door opens and Aunt May steps in. Superhuman spider speed, I love you!

"Peter?"

I get up and go to the living room door.

"Hey, Aunt May," I say. "Uh, this is Kitty." I gesture into the living room and Kitty comes to join me at the door.

"Hi," she says. "It's nice to meet you."

"Hello Kitty," says Aunt May. I stifle a laugh. Badly. They're both looking at me – Aunt May with a look that says 'what's so funny?' and Kitty with a look that says 'if you make that joke, I will slap you'.

"Sorry," I mutter.

"Have you two eaten?"

"Yeah, we got a pizza."

"Pizza? Bet you didn't save me a slice!"

"I was really hungry!"

"Told you to get two," says Kitty, nudging me with her shoulder.

"Anyway, I'd better go and get changed. Nice meeting you, Kitty," says Aunt May and she heads upstairs.

"So," says Kitty, stepping closer to me, her hands on my shoulder. "What news do you want to break to her first? That we're an item or that I'm a mutant?"

"We'd tell her you're a mutant?"

"Yes. I don't keep that from anyone. Ever."

I put my hand around her waist, smiling at her.

"We'll see," I say. "Let's not spring anything on her too soon – I think 'I have a friend who is a girl' was almost too much!"

Kitty laughs.

"No rush then." She stands on tip-toes and kisses me on the cheek. "I should get back."

"I'll walk you home," I say.

"Sure," she says and she takes my hand.

You know something? For once, things are actually looking up.


	6. Chapter 6

Okay. Oh, boy. Here goes. I've put off seeing her for long enough.

I knock on MJ's door.

I'll give her the jacket and leave. That will be it. Don't need to stay and talk or anything. Heck, I don't know why I'm not just webbing it to her window. Or why I'm even bothering to give it back. It's just a jacket and I'm sure neither of us really wants to see each other.

The door opens. Mary Jane's standing there, looking at me.

"Hey," I say. "You left this at mine."

She takes the jacket from me. I have never seen her face so emotionless. It's odd, seeing someone usually so full of life like this.

"Thanks," she says.

"Yeah. Well, I just wanted to drop it off. So I'll…"

"Sure," she says.

I turn to leave. I'm going to do it. I'm actually going to just walk away.

Oh, I hate myself.

"MJ… can we talk? Please? Can we just talk?"

"Talk about what, Peter?"

"I can't do this. You're my friend. You were always my friend and now I feel like I can't even talk to you. I just… I don't want things to be like this between us."

"Really?" she says, stepping outside, shutting the door behind her. "You spend all that time pushing me away, to the point where it drives me insane just trying to be with you, and now you want to be best buddies all of a sudden?"

"I was trying to keep you safe."

"Yeah. I get it, Peter. It doesn't make it any easier. I mean, maybe, at first, it was fun. My boyfriend's a superhero, yay! But all you ever did was make me stay away, hold stuff back from me, put me through hell while you ran around as Spider-Man and I never knew if you'd come back alive or… or…"

"I know. I get it. But I-"

She cuts me off with a raised finger.

"And then, when you did open up, you'd expect me to just listen to all this crap about how you nearly died and how you're dealing with killers and mob bosses and just be fine with it and tell you it's all going to be okay! I can't do it, Peter! I can't spend my life worrying about you getting killed, scared stiff because you won't let me in!"

"I know. Okay? I know that, MJ! You deserve someone you can, you know, actually be with. Someone better than me. I'm not saying I want to try it all again, but I just want us to be friends. I want us to not hate each other."

"Well, it's a little late for that."

Before I can respond, she's turned her back on me and she's back inside. The door slams shut in my face.

So, that went well. Nice one, Parker.

Want to know something shocking?

There's a petty thief named Herman Schultz running around New York, using these 'shock blast' gloves, calling himself the Shocker and yet I'm the one the Daily Bugle calls a maniac.

Also, I've taken this guy down so many times and he is still not in jail.

But come on, seriously… the Shocker?

Today he has opted for a jewellery store robbery. And since I was swinging by at the time, I thought I'd pay him a little visit.

"Herman, Herman, Herman…"

"Oh no. Not you! Please, not-"

I drop from the building I was clinging to and deliver one quick kick to his jaw. He drops, hitting the floor. Probably hardly felt it – he wears this big goofy looking yellow jacket. It's all padded to reduce any blowback from his shock gloves.

"Yep! Me! Your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man, dropping in with a kind reminder – stop stealing stuff! I mean, seriously, Herman, I am surprised you're sticking with this whole Shocker schtick after the last fifteen times I handed your butt to you."

He scrambles to his feet, tries to grab for the bag he was carrying. I web it to the floor. Should stop him or anyone else running off with it.

"Leave me alone!" he yells. Wow, this guy is getting desperate.

He turns on me, hands outstretched, and shoots off a shock blast. Spider sense saw it coming. I was jumping into the air before his fingers had even hit the buttons. I watch the ripple pass through the air beneath me. It's impressive stuff – the gloves create super powerful vibrations to shatter… well, pretty much anything.

Yeah, he's called the Shocker and he makes stuff vibrate.

Mustn't make a dirty joke, mustn't make a dirty joke, mustn't make a dirty joke…

"Really, though? I mean, Shocker? Have you even been on Urban Dictionary?"

He shoots another shock blast. I leap aside again. Okay, I'll admit, that one was a low blow even by my standards.

Rubble hits the ground behind me as the blast strikes the building. Dammit. Got to stop this before he does too much damage.

I shoot two bursts of webbing. Herman doesn't have the time to react and in a second I've wrapped up both his big metal shock gloves.

"Nice try, bug."

Spider sense blares again. But I just-

The next blast tears through the webbing. Didn't expect that. I'm caught off-guard, don't react fast enough and the next thing I know I'm on the ground.

Ugghh. Everything's spinning. Seriously, stop spinning, I can't- agh! Can't focus. Please stop spinning. I can't get up. My ears are ringing. I think- I think Shocker's saying something. I can't- what's going on? Why won't everything stop spinning?!

"Hey, Honey."

I actually heard that. I recognise that voice. But… can't be…

I hear a bang behind me. I roll onto my back, everything coming a little more into focus. First thing I see is Shocker with smoke pouring out of his gloves. Can't waste time. Can't let him get away. I slam down on the webshooters. The force of the webbing throws him back and in the next second, he's webbed up to the wall of the jewellery store.

As I get to my feet, I see the second figure. She's in a black costume with white gloves. Big white eyes on the mask, which covers the top half of her face. I still recognise her.

"Uh… hey," I say. I move a little closer, whispering so none of the people in the street can hear. "Kitty?"

"Hey!"

"What's this?"

"New look. You like it?"

"New look?"

We're cut off by sirens wailing towards us. Oh good, the boys in blue are here. I grab Kitty's hand.

"Come on," I say. "We need to get out of here."

"We're not going to wait for the police to congratulate us on getting the bad guy?"

"That's not what happens next. What happens next is the police shoot at me."

"Well, there's that too."

A few seconds later, we're swinging away, Kitty clinging to my back. Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. I mean, web-swinging's always been one hell of a rush, but swooping through New York with Kitty holding onto me, her face over my shoulder as she laughs and yells like a kid on a theme park ride… this is the life!

"Wahoo!"

"Did you just wahoo me?" I ask.

"I just saved your butt. I get a wahoo."

"Touché. I could have handled that though."

"Dude, that guy was lamer than that Vulture creep. Hawkeye could have handled that!"

"Are we doing Avengers zingers now? Because I have some good Thor ones I've been wanting to use."

"Which one's Thor again? Is that the woman?"

"I don't even know anymore."

Air streams over us as I let go of the web, letting us drop to a rooftop below. Kitty tightens her grip and I feel my heartbeat quicken. We land and she unlaces her hands from around my shoulders.

"So, what is with the new look?" I ask, pulling my mask off as I turn to face her. She pulls her mask away too, shaking some life into her hair as she does.

"I told you, we've got to keep a low profile right now – X-Men are kind of in trouble at the minute. So I thought I'd put something new together so I could join in with your… superhero-ing. I hate sitting on the side-lines. Plus…"

"Plus what?"

"Well, people know about Kitty Pryde, X-Man. If I was seen working with Spider-Man too much and then people found out I was dating Peter Parker, they might put two and two together."

"Did you create a whole new superhero identity for hanging out with me?"

"I… Yes."

"That's… that is pretty cool of you."

"I try."

She flings her arms around my neck and our lips meet for a second. Then she's smiling up at me with those big bright eyes and that smile I can never get out of my head.

"So," she says, "you been okay lately?"

"Yeah… no… I don't know."

"What's up?"

"I, uh… I saw MJ earlier."

"Your ex?" Kitty withdraws her arms from around me.

"Yeah. I mean, I just wanted to go talk to her, try to be friends still, you know… she is, like, my oldest friend, Kitty."

"Didn't go well?"

"Could say that."

"She ended it, right? I mean, did you expect a warm welcome?"

"No, but… you know, surprisingly, this isn't helping."

"Peter, with how complicated things must have been… I mean, the whole double-life thing… you can't expect to stay on the best of terms with someone after all that. I mean, it's difficult enough for us to cope with all of this stuff, right? It's not going to be much easier for the people around us. The people who can't walk through walls or swing around on spider webs."

"You don't get it, Kitty. She helped me through so much of this Spider-Man stuff and now she won't even talk to me."

"Fine. Whatever." She has her mask back on and she's suddenly turned her back on me, walking away. "I've got to go."

Uuuugh. Idiot.

"Kitty, wait. Let me swing you back at-"

"It's fine."

She phases down through the rooftop, vanishing from view. I am an idiot. I am a total idiot. Nice going, Parker. Got a door in the face from MJ, a beating from the Shocker (of all people), and then I managed to push Kitty away.

Should have seen this coming. I knew sooner or later the old Parker luck would have to kick in.


End file.
